Thursday, April 7, 2011

Kings vs Coyotes: Two The Hard Way

Going into last night's game, the Kings were under substantial pressure to nail down a play-off spot. After laying an egg in San Jose Monday night, we still needed two points to qualify for the post-season. Two HUGE points.

No pressure, eh Cappy?

The Phoenix Coyotes needed exactly the same number of points to qualify for a playoff berth of their own. Staples Center had been kind to them this year. So had Jonathan Quick, who brought a career losing record against the Coyotes to the table. So we had our work cut out for us, and the Desert Dogs weren't going to let us get those points without a huge fight.

The Kings were far from their best during 60 minutes of regulation play and the Coyotes were the proverbial dog with a bone. The one bright spot was The Big Red Dog himself. Kyle Clifford's game tying goal in the second was a study in hard work, grit and doing anything and everything to get the puck.

Don't worry Dewey. I got this.

Thanks to his incredible effort and a lackluster 3rd period, the tight-checking contest went all the way down to the wire in a Wild West style shoot-out. Once again, the hero of the night was clutch number one goalie Jonathan Quick, who sealed the deal with a stop on Lauri Korpikosk.

Sorry bro...but I gotta poke check you....

They got it done by the skin of their teeth, but the Kings are FINALLY off to their second play-off appearance in two seasons!

The win put the Kings into fourth position in the West Conference standings, but they still need to fight to stay there. The regular season will reach it's wild conclusion with a home and home series Friday and Saturday against our arch rivals, the Anaheim Ducks. We need more points to secure our home ice advantage, so let's make sure we bring the noise at both games, Kings fans!